How to Stop Writing Restroom Passes (and Keep Students in Class)

Those incessant restroom requests . . . what’s a teacher to do? I admit I’ve always been annoyed by them (What? You mean you want to leave my class?). But how can you say no when students ask? For years, I would just sign the pass, adding wistful words like, “Go quickly!” or “Hurry back!” But once I’d allow one student to go, another and another would want a pass as well (despite the fact that they are told to use the restroom during passing time).

I was noticing plenty of my students socializing in the halls with friends, or hanging by the doorway before class, yet 15 minutes later in class requesting a restroom pass. I began denying requests to these students and found that they were just fine without the pass. Oh, I did have to make my case. But seeing that these students survived without that restroom trip got me thinking about setting some MAJOR limits for passes, and that’s what I did.

So read on to discover an easy system that will allow you to drastically reduce restroom requests.

1. Set a Scant Limit –

I decided to set a limit . . . 3 PASSES PER QUARTER. Yup, that’s all. Three restroom passes over the nine (or ten) week grading period. As I start out the year, I write this up in a section on my Class Expectations infographic handout. I hear the gasps as my middle-school students read.

“You mean, three per month?”

“Nope, three for the entire grading period.”

“But what if we have to go to the bathroom?”

“You’ll need to plan your restroom visits for passing time or other classes. But you do get three per quarter for this class.”

The good news? Even though students wear a frightful expression as they learn of the 3-pass limit (I make sure to act very nonchalantly as I inform them), they kind of just accept it! I have been using this system for two years now and it has totally worked! I have SO MANY FEWER restroom requests, which I will illustrate for you later in this post. Just set your expectation and stick to it.

FYI, in middle school, since we work in teams, I brought this idea to my team colleagues and they all wanted to use it. I made a little poster about team expectations and included the 3-pass per quarter (per teacher) rule.

2. Make It Concrete –

After I announce the 3-pass limit, I hold up my clipboard, which contains my class lists in a charting to show three columns where I can jot down the date each time a student uses a pass. Now students can see this procedure has been planned and organized. It’s FOR REAL! Then I say, “So I have three columns next to each of your names and when you need to use one of your passes, I just record the date in this little box and we’ll know you’ve used one. That way we can always check to see if you’re on your first, your second, or your last.”

I actually have three sets of three columns. That’s because the first set is for restroom passes, and I use a second set of columns to keep track of late students. The third set is a place where I record dates when students are unprepared. (That’s why the columns are marked R, L, and U.) I explain this information to them as well. Three times late or unprepared results in a detention.

Here’s a picture of the blank charts that I keep for each class on my clipboard:

These rosters print out from our system (School Tool) with the student names and the columns already there. All I do is take a marker and darken the lines to separate the sets of three spaces.

3. Stick With the Program –

Whenever a student comes up to have a pass signed, you have to get to your clipboard to quickly jot down the date in the corresponding spot on the chart. If you neglect this step, students will see that they can actually have more passes that you originally indicated, and the system will flop. Keep the clipboard in whatever area of the room you hang out at the most. Mine is on my front table, so if I’m back at my desk, I do have to get up and go to that clipboard if I grant a student a pass.

4. Notice Your Results –

At the end of the quarter, I have been amazed at how few students even used all three of their passes! Several students used no passes at all! Take a look at the chart here, which has been filled out for the last quarter for one of my regular English classes.

In a class of 27 students, a whopping 15 students didn’t use any of their 3 allotted passes! And only 5 students hit their limit.

My takeaway from two years using this method is If you build it, they will come ! Students catch on that this is the plan, and let me just say what a difference I am enjoying from the old days. No more steady stream of kids coming up to me with their agendas held out to sign, day after day. And even better is the understanding I have that, for the most part, they are JUST FINE. If there is en extenuating “emergency,” I use my judgment. A good compromise is to tell the student okay, but I will mark them with an unprepared, since they’d used up their passes and hadn’t used the RR during passing time.

Comments

I get what you’re trying to do here, but I get so frustrated when teachers are too strict with bathroom passes. My oldest child has a full academic college scholarship. She’s a great child and student and always has been. She used to be terrified to ask teachers to use the restroom because of teachers being too strict, and some even freaking out at students. You know what happens to these students in these classrooms? UTIs and embarrassing menstrual messes.

I understand completely. That’s where teacher smarts has to come in. Teachers have to be aware if they are not meeting a child’s needs and find alternate ways to go. I have several students that have arranged through their parent and the school nurse to have a special pass taped into their agenda that they just come up and show me, and I know they get unlimited restroom passes. No one else really has to know where they are going.

Great ideas!
I have a slihghtly different system in place. Each 9 weeks each student gets a set of “oops” tickets ( teacher printed tickets that include 2 homework helpers-24 hours extra time to turn in homework; 2 potty passes can only be used the last 5 minutes of class or individual work time; and 2 get-out-of-trouble cards that can be used for one of the other cards or for a pencil or to go to their locker). I take up the ticket as they use it and they are responsible for keeping up with them. Some kids don’t use theirs, some lose theirs, and others find out who their true friends are as they beg for someone to ‘be a friend’. I think I am going to start using your list idea for some things, like 0 homework and no materials. I’m all about teaching responsibility in my 7th grade science class.

I love your creative ideas! In our school, students have their passes in their agendas, and they have to have their agendas on them whenever they are in the hall. So we can’t actually create passes like yours. I like how you address the pencil issue:)

I do something similar with my high school students. I made and printed bathroom passes on colored paper. They get 2 per quarter with their names on them that they have to keep up (non transferable). I sign, date, and time the back when they use one. That becomes their hall pass, and I can tell the pass has been “used”. Any unused passes they can turn in at the of the term for bonus points.

I too give only 3 passes per grading period, but I have made leaving the room tickets. They are given to the student at the beginning of the semester. There are 6 tickets on one sheet that they keep in their notebooks. The tickets include the date, time, and destination. Students present the ticket sheet to me before they leave (only during non-instructional time). The student must have it filled out except for the time. I write the time they leave and cross the ticket out so they can not use it again.
I love your idea about the 3-columns, I will be using this for my records and use the first column for time tracking. Thanks again for a great idea!

I do the same thing as Pat. Each student gets a “Hall Pass Sheet” at the beginning of the year to keep in their binders. The sheets have 12 passes, 3 for each quarter. They have to fill out the date, time, and destination. I fill in my initials when they use a pass. Each quarter, students earn extra credit points for clean sheets. When students are out of passes, that’s it! Occasionally, I’ll offer a bonus pass during review games as a reward that won’t count toward their pass sheets. It actually works!

Thank you so much for this idea. As a teacher that has a kidney condition, I know there will be some students that warrant more breaks. But I know specifically who those students are usually. I am trying to find a way for them to be able to discreetly let me know about this without letting all students find out about it. I had some last year that liked to be romancing in the hallways then wanted to use the bathroom during my class. I have decided this year, they will have to complete a log before going to the bathroom and leaving me their phone. Many students like to go to the bathroom and use it as texting time. Again, I love this idea.